Sleeping Forever
by The Trickiest One
Summary: Lloyd could never tell the difference between inflicting and receiving pain, it was a thing he was incapable of, he never minded it. Pain was something that he was used too, loved, adored, embraced. Lloyd could sleep forever if he wanted. And who knew pain better than an Oni? Welcome to Ninjago City, Jerk Population: One, Citizen: Lloyd.
1. Impulse

**Movie!Ninjago AU where our beloved Lloyd is full Oni blood and he embraces that crap like it's a good thing**

 **Platonic!Greenflame I guess**

 **The grammar in here is wacky, luckily, it's supposed to be :)**

* * *

Focus, focus, focus. Keep your eyes on your paper, you've got a test tomorrow, Lloyd. Stop doodling on it, Lloyd. Focus Lloyd, don't chew on your pencil, that's disgusting. Focus. Can you just keep your eyes on your paper for one second?

"Can you stop talking to yourself, Mr. Garmadon." The teacher tapped on his desk with his ruler, he flinched, the class laughed. He slid down his chair from embarrassment, he'd been talking again. "You're disrupting the class."

"He always does this," He heard someone whisper. "The rumors are true, maybe they really are gonna kick him outta here. I sure hope so."

"One time, he beat the everloving crap outta Chen five years ago, for no reason!"

 _That was so long ago._

"Yeah, I heard he pushed his cousin off of the Lighthouse three years back!"

 _It was an accident. His cousin can't swim. He wondered where they got that information, he made sure he burned all the newspapers._

"Bet you twenty bucks that he goes to join his dad."

"Think Lloyd Garmadon will join forces with his father?"

"He's such an emotionless freak, just like his father."

 _Stop talking, you're hurting me again. Stop, stop, stop, stop. They'll make me hurt them. St-_

"Shut up! Stop talking about me!" Lloyd shouted. His classmates gasped.

"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon! That is enough!" Someone snickered at the name "Montgomery". The teacher slapped his ruler across his desk, Lloyd flinched again. "You've been disrupting this class for the last three days with your outbursts, week's detention!" Lloyd buried his face with his hands.

 _Sorry. Sorry. Sorry._

Lloyd sat up, he'd cry if he could. "I'm going to the bathroom." He grabbed his bag and made his way out of the room. He ignored the teasing of the other students, he ignored his teacher calling after him, he ignored his impulsive feelings to hurt someone. That'd be bad.

Lloyd could never get people, it was a thing he was incapable of. The human emotion was foreign to him, he understood why they smiled, he understood why they got frustrated, he even understood why they laughed. But he never understood why they cried when they got hurt, when they did, they'd go on for hours and hours on end on why it hurt, he found that annoying.

Maybe being an emotionless freak wasn't so bad.

He sat on the cold bathroom floor, next to the sink, he liked that bathroom. No one came to bother him, no one interrupts his thoughts, no one came to touch him. He'd be fine on his own. No one came in there because he'd hurt them if they did. They were afraid of the things he'd do to them. He liked being alone.

The bully becoming the bullied was a funny thing. Lloyd felt so conflicted with his actions, first, he's an emotionless teenager who feels nothing but his pride in his heritage, then he's a raging monster who leaves scars and bruises in his wake. So conflicted, so tired.

"Hey buddy," The bathroom door opened, there was Kai. Suddenly, the atmosphere seemed tense, Lloyd doesn't like tense atmospheres. "I'd thought you'd be in here," He kept it a secret from them, they'd be scared of him if they found out. He doesn't want them to be scared of him. "...saw you running out of your class...decided to follow you...okay?"

"Hm?" Lloyd only caught bits and pieces of their one-sided conversation, he only answered in nods with occasional "yes" and "no". He wanted Kai to go away, to stop asking questions, he wanted him to disappear. Kai placed his hand on his shoulder, Kai was his best friend, he wouldn't hurt him. Maybe.

"Lloyd, you're not answering my questions, yes and no aren't the words that I'm looking for. You know that." Kai said. Lloyd returned his concerned stare with a blank one, he wasn't even listening, he was too busy thinking of the things he could do if Kai didn't leave him alone. Bad things.

"I like being alone in here, can you go now?" Lloyd responded. Kai furrowed his eyebrows. Lloyd then added softly: "I'll hurt you if you don't."

"You don't know me, Kai. Not like you think you do," He sighed. "You can't possibly understand what I do in here, it's a coping thing. These outbursts are uncontrollable...these unearthly coping mechanisms."

"Coping?" Lloyd shrunk back, he'd already said too much. Kai would be mad at him, then he'd never trust him again, he'd tell the others about it, then it'll be another accident. Kai sat down next to him, the bell rung. "Lloyd, what exactly do you do in here?"

"Do you ever wonder why we get attacked by my dad so often?" He changed the subject, completely off topic from Kai was trying to get at. Kai looked almost hurt when he dodged the question again. "I come in here to think about that."

"Lloyd, please don't lie to me." Kai formed his mouth into a thin line to find the lie. Kai was onto him, he wasn't buying it. Lloyd gathered his thoughts together, it was like a game of cat and mouse, he was the feeble mouse while Kai was the dangerous cat, ready to strike at any moment. He was afraid of that. "You're a good liar, you know that, right? If you have anything to say, you might as well say it, I might be able to help you. I'll understand."

"You ever wonder why the janitor's arm is broken?" Lloyd hinted at what he was going to put out there. He didn't think Kai could help him. Kai would never understand. "You ever see kids around school with black eyes and bruises? How about the ones who don't laugh or tease me? Or the teachers who are even afraid to speak my name?"

"Lloyd," He was afraid of that. He knew what Kai's fear was like. "What did you do?"

"But, but, you said you'll understand, right?" Lloyd widened his eyes, searching for some hope that'll his best friend would agree with him. But that wasn't Kai, the fire ninja was all about justice for those who deserved it. And Lloyd most definitely didn't deserve justice. "So what if I broke a couple of bones and ribs? I made them promise not to tell! You believe me right?"

"You can't just hurt people and get away with it." Kai protested. Lloyd moved back, further away from him, his mother said the same thing when he was eleven. "You had no reason too."

"Maybe I don't, but they wouldn't leave me alone, they talk about me like I'm some monster."

"You are a monster if you hurt people!"

Lloyd doesn't like it when people yelled at him. Lloyd doesn't like it when his friends got mad. Lloyd doesn't like it when no one believes him. Lloyd doesn't like a lot of things. He definitely doesn't like it when someone calls him a monster.

Kai looked anywhere but Lloyd's eyes, he failed to see what he was doing was justified. Was it just for fun? For vengeance? To clear his good name? Or maybe it was for the personal issues he clearly had.

"I'm going to tell the others." Kai got up, he put on his backpack. Lloyd was once again afraid. "I can't see-"

"No!" Lloyd shouted. Matching his facial expressions to Kai's, he smiled. "No. You won't see, and if you leave, I'll make sure you can't see at all." Grabbing Kai's hand and yanking him down, Lloyd locked his into Kai's. "Just let me explain, please?"

"Let me go, Lloyd." Kai tugged at Lloyd's fingers as if they were sharp claws. Lloyd kept his eyes on Kai's, he wasn't about to let his secret go public. That went against his rules. He squeezed Kai's hand, he heard several joints pop, Kai winced indicating that he felt it. "Lloyd! What's the matter with you!?"

"I thought we were friends, I thought friends would understand each other, Kai!" He was crying again, emotions were a terrible thing. "Maybe I sunk too far into that hole of infinite hatred and spite of nothing," He grabbed his wrists now, twisting them ever so slightly. "Maybe I want to stay there, only where I'm understood, I'll be fine, you'll be fine."

Lloyd didn't really know if inflicting pain was the same thing as getting hurt, it was a theory he was trying to test out. Whenever or not the mediocre human was capable of telling the difference, he was not human for his case. His father was the most terrifying thing the city had ever seen, but he wasn't afraid, he had never been afraid. He doesn't like to hurt himself.

It was a strange thing, that a well-known hero of Ninjago City should resort to a violent tendency, a violent impulse. He felt like a caged monster that needed to let free the frustration to do something bad, he didn't necessarily like playing the good guy, wasn't who he was. He had been keeping newspapers of his father's attacks, he's been playing his two-faced hero personality again, fascinated by them. But his father was intentionally trying to kill him, the Green Ninja.

He was sixteen and going under, sixteen and not human, sixteen and a terror. Lloyd let out a laugh, he'd been thinking too much again. He eyed Kai, fear stayed with him through. Then Lloyd took out a pen and ink, keeping his death grip on Kai's arm. He was sixteen and wasn't going to let his life go to hell.

That wasn't his job.

"Just promise that you won't tell, promise me that I won't get hurt again. I don't want to get hurt again. Just don't leave me." He felt thirteen again, speaking in sentences that made no sense. Kai wasn't going to leave him like his cousin did, it was an accident. He brought his hand to Kai's right eye, feeling the scar, Kai gave him a confused look but continued to struggle against him. Lloyd felt guilty. He found that funny. "I like your pretty eyes."

"Lloyd, let me go and maybe I'll spare you a roundhouse kick to the face!" His naysayer pulled, his efforts were useless, he couldn't understand. It was ridiculous, last time he checked, Lloyd had been the weak link between the two, so very ridiculous.

"You've got a pretty face, Kai. Wouldn't want to ruin it." Lloyd hummed. Lloyd knew Kai's fears, he was afraid, afraid of what his father could and can do, afraid of water, afraid of himself. People hurt him because they are afraid. He hurt them because they were afraid, afraid of him. He was afraid of people. The instincts of an Oni were a scary thing.

Lloyd brought his hand down to Kai's neck, he pressed lightly onto his pressure point. The fire master's eyes rolled to the back of his head, he was knocked out, missing in on the action. Lloyd took his pen and drew symbols, patterns, words. He can't tell the difference between inflicting pain and receiving pain. Kai was his best friend.

Kai was snoring softly now, Lloyd liked his facial expression. It was soft and harmless, incapable of reaching out to others, he liked that. He let loose his grip on Kai's hand, he then placed his pen and ink into it, allowing the ink to spill. What a mess, Lloyd was going to have to clean it later.

Kai wouldn't remember what happened the next day, he'd have to read between the ink on his skin for answers, ancient letters that only a few could read it. He'd wish he could see.

Maybe his tomorrow could read it to him. That's what he liked to do before he died. The instincts of an Oni were a dangerous thing. He had broken one of his rules

That's what he was afraid of.

 **Rule Number One: Don't be afraid to lie.**


	2. Noisy

**Don't mind me shoving Oni!Lloyd headcanons down your throat.**

* * *

Kai wore black-rimmed sunglasses to school the next morning, claiming that the light bothered him, his friends passed it off as a joke. It wasn't. Lloyd took away his eyesight. He stayed close to Cole for support. Kai never told anyone what happened. He clearly didn't remember. Nor did it bother him either.

Lloyd just merely laughed at that.

The pen and ink trick wasn't the first time he's used it, his uncle gave it to him for his birthday last year. It was supposed to be his cousin's but that opportunity was long gone. He'd used it on the janitor first, the one whose arm was broken, his words were manipulative, they obeyed his orders good and well. Kai was just his latest test subject.

He never knew being an Oni was a strange thing.

His emotional mask was worn on his face again as he heard his science teacher drone on about some project and scores from a test he'd forgotten about, he wasn't listening to her, he was more focused on Jay. His thoughts were wild, noisy. Lloyd didn't like noisy things.

"Alright, the results are in," His teacher announced. Again, he was listening, now he was interested. "All of you have passed, but the two highest scores are Jay Walker,"

"Obviously." Lloyd heard someone say. Jay hid with his scarf. Jay was anxious again. He could feel the weight that his anxiety carried. Lloyd doesn't like Jay being afraid.

"And Lloyd Garmadon?" The teacher squinted at the printing on the paper. There were murmurs in the crowd. "Wait a minute, that can't be right."

Lloyd wasn't surprised, he didn't even study, he'd cheated off of Jay. Of course, his hero-side knew that it was wrong, but Lloyd has been putting that off for a while now, his instincts were kicking in. Jay was unsuspecting of the entire thing, he sat next to Lloyd anyway, the last one to get his paper, first one to finish. Lloyd had to swallow the pill of jealousy that was building up.

"Well, congratulations you two. As for the rest of you. You each with pick a partner or group to work with, if you can't figure it out, I will assign you myself." The teacher finished her speech. Lloyd looked around the room, he needed Jay, and he wasn't going to let anyone take him away. His mind was far too electrifying to share. Lloyd didn't like to share.

Once the teacher had assigned the project, one of the students offered Jay a spot to sit with them.

"Hey, Walker. Wanna sit with us? We could use a mind like yours, the one this loser," He pointed to Lloyd. "Doesn't have."

"No thanks," Jay declined the offer. Perfect. "I'd rather keep my mind with him, he's my friend."

He met Jay in the graveyard when they were fourteen, Jay told him about his birth father's death days ago, so he and his adoptive parents came to mourn him. Cliff Gordon was an actor. Back then, Jay's thoughts were extraordinary. He'd inherited his father's mansion.

Lloyd never mentioned his cousin.

He could never understand Jay. His mind was going in at least four directions, all, screaming and shouting. His thoughts were noisy. Though he was brilliant, his personal gift, he didn't like to share ideas. Jay was full of self-doubt.

Lloyd doesn't like noisy things.

"So I was thinking, maybe we can make a model of a Monodon Monoceros if that's alright with you." Jay gave him a hopeful smile. Lloyd raised an eyebrow as if to ask what that was. Jay's face fell slightly, he facepalmed himself in the head. "Don't you remember, Narwhals? We had to recite the scientific names of cetaceans. Or, maybe that's just me."

"Nope, that's just you, buddy." Lloyd chuckled. Jay nodded and slid back into his chair. Now he realized why everyone was looking at him so oddly this morning. His eyes were red, he'd 'forgotten' his contacts at home. He liked his eyes. He liked Kai's eyes too. Lloyd shook off that feeling and took out a piece of paper as well as his school computer. "The project's not due until next Wednesday, we have a week."

"We can meet up at the mansion tomorrow if you'd like. I have more supplies there than in this classroom, assuming that you don't have plans besides, y'know, saving the city." Jay gave a small smile.

"Sure," Lloyd said. He didn't have any plans that involved himself. This was all about Jay. He'd already broken his first rule, he wasn't going to do it again.

"I should warn the others," He thought Jay had said. But that wasn't Jay. Jay was thinking again. Jay thinks too much. Jay's afraid to act.

The rest of the day passed, his father had no attacks so lunch went by normally. Kai, this time, sat opposite of Lloyd, still closer to Cole like he trusted him with his life. Zane noticed the thin social line between the two's daily conversation but said nothing of the sorts. Cole didn't mind the awkwardness. Lloyd thought nothing of Nya, he hated the ocean. Jay was busy thinking. Lloyd thought his one-sided conversations were amusing.

Lloyd started to hurt people again. They bothered him. Yes. His random impulses needed him too. The thought of his cousin fueled his need to be satisfied with something he couldn't have. Yesterday was a distant memory. Today, he cornered a Freshman, broke her crutches, and stole her wallet, she didn't need it anyway. She's as almost as wealthy as Jay. That's funny.

* * *

Saturdays were weird. He was moodier than usual, fearful than usual, emotionless as usual. Jay gave him the address of the mansion. He didn't refer it to 'his mansion', Jay didn't want it in the first place, but it was a gift, Jay doesn't turn down gifts. He didn't have any butlers or maids, he dismissed and paid them. Jay could do all that cooking and cleaning himself. Lloyd admired Jay's independence.

The mansion was surrounded by trees, lots of them. There was a gate with filled with gold plaster stars, it opened automatically for him, he guessed that Jay saw him judging from the security cameras outside. The inside was...interesting, there was Fritz Donnegan merchandise everywhere he looked, there was even a huge statue announcing the phrase: "Fear isn't a word where I come from!". Honestly, Lloyd was a fan of his. Jay must have kept everything in order.

To his left, there was a dining room twice the size of his bedroom, he could smell cookies. Maybe Jay was cooking, which was, not unlike him at all. Jay was good at many things. There was a crash, Lloyd pressed his ear to the kitchen door.

Jay cursed in a language that was foreign to Lloyd. He was able to make out a few words such as 'gone wrong' and 'awful' and 'useless'. Jay taught the team (and his uncle) a couple of words.

"You're not supposed to burn them, dummy! Lloyd wouldn't want to hang out with you if you continue to do this!" Lloyd stepped back. He wasn't sure as of what to do, he never told Jay that he could hear everything he's thinking. Now he was actually concerned. "So clean up your mess and keep up your charade."

"Hey, uh, are you okay?" Lloyd knocked. Jay screamed. Another crash. Lloyd hoped he didn't scare him much.

"I'm fine, j-just, um, hang on a minute. I need to fix something." Jay shouted back. Lloyd hummed an 'okay' to roam around the room. There was a blue couch, blue walls, even a blue ceiling fan. Either Cliff Gordon really likes the color blue or Jay wanted a touch-up. Nope. To the corner of his eye, he spotted Jay.

"What happened in there?" Lloyd questioned him. Jay awkwardly shuffled in his scarf, baggy clothes, unkempt hair, tired blue eyes, he looked like he had just woke up.

"Don't worry about it," Jay gave his 'liar' smile. Lloyd knew better, Jay's frustrated because he'd burned cookies. He threw them away. Jay moved past him and pulled down a gold statue Lloyd had thought to be an award. The poster next to it moved sideways. Cool. "Uh, welcome to Fritz Donnegan's secret lair, if you will."

"Wow," Lloyd had to admit, it was spine-chilling to be in the same room as someone who was the son of his favorite actor. There were mannequins of previous suits and even those that he had heard of in theory, and a pink mirror with pictures and autographs, perhaps a dresser of sorts. But there was one detail that caught his attention, Cliff had pictures of Jay, well, the Lightning ninja one. Kind of creepy but if Jay was fine with it, so was he. "It's like a jungle in here."

"Yeah, I guess, it gets pretty small once you get used to it." Jay mused. "But it's all fun and games until your parents tell you to come home, there's even a built-in TV." Lloyd liked that.

"How many people have been here?"

"You're the first, I've never invited anyone over before, aside from my parents, of course."

"I see."

They sat on Jay's superhero-themed bean bag chairs, talking about the latest movies they've seen and the games they played. Eventually, they got started on their project. Jay looked up from time-to-time as if to say something, but his mind shut him down quickly like he was being a nuisance. Lloyd wanted a conversation. It was getting too noisy in his friend's mind.

"You know," Jay started. Lloyd looked up from the sketch they were working on. "I never wanted to inherit this mansion. It's one of the only things that people recognize me for at school. I'm just an adopted orphan living a junkyard kid's dream."

"No, you're so much more than that," Lloyd placed his hand on the pen next to him. He'd been eyeing it for twenty minutes. "You're a dreamer living a good life I wish I had." He laughed. "You think too much, Jay. You're a millionaire, think about that!"

Jay gave him a questioning look. "But I don't want to be a millionaire!"

"Then what do you want?" Lloyd slowly took his hand and locked them together. Jay said nothing of it.

"I don't know, to not be so awkward?" Jay was unsure about his answer. His thoughts were noisy. Lloyd's head hurt. Lloyd used his left hand to dip ink into his pen, it dripped slightly, there was a skull symbol formed as it evaporated. "What are you doing?"

Lloyd didn't like noisy things.

"I like your hair," Lloyd smiled. His hand traveled up from Jay's hand to his hair. "Can I have a some?"

"That's definitely not a disturbing thing to say," The lightning elemental grabbed his hand. "I don't like you like that, Lloyd."

"I know, I also know that you can't stand the heat, you can't tolerate higher levels than 85, otherwise you'd pass out. But you don't mind the thought of a fire." Then there was heat. Lloyd changed the room temperature. Jay's eyebrows furrowed, he was freaking out, Lloyd motioned him to sit down. "Hey, hey, calm down. You're not going to die, Sparkplug," Only Cole called Jay that. "I'll make sure of it."

"W-what did y-you do!?" Jay's breathing increased as the room got hotter. Lloyd kept a straight face while Jay panicked. It was was weird to classify Jay as a could-be-pyromaniac, the heat wasn't his strongest suit. Lloyd could hear his heartbeat increase. "First Spinjitzu Master, I am going to die, Lloyd! Are you trying to kill me!? Why would you want to kill me!?"

Lloyd mumbled under his breath, drawing patterns on Jay's sweaty arm, the ink was waterproof. He drew words such as 'larynx' and 'cerebral', 'vocal' and 'intelligence'. Jay gave him a blank stare afterward, he couldn't' hear his thoughts anymore. Wonderful. After a few markings, Jay collapsed to the floor. 93 degrees Fahrenheit Lloyd recorded. Didn't even take long.

"Better," Lloyd muttered. He closed the cap to both supplies and stood up. "Where does he keep the razors?"

Looking over to Cliff Gordon's dresser, there was a hair clipper with the label 'Jay's'. Lloyd raised an eyebrow, clearly, Jay had no stubble and no other bodily hair, perhaps he was experimenting. Lloyd hummed a song of satisfaction as he turned it on, it worked. Edging his fingers towards the blade, it cut him, they were sharp alright.

Lloyd let the blood run down his hand, he didn't wince, only fools did that. And Lloyd Garmadon was no fool. He shaved Jay's head, wearing a mohawk instead of a full set of hair. Interesting. Something new was something good. Jay wouldn't be mad. It was too hot for all that.

Leaving the room, the teen turned the A/C down, to a temperature Jay would be familiar with, something cooler. Lloyd broken his rules again, he made a mistake. He doesn't like to make mistakes. He stole Jay's orange scarf.

Jay didn't deserve it. But it's what his survival instincts told him.

 **Rule Number Two:**

 **Silence those who deserve their punishment.**

* * *

As he left it dawned on him.

They never finished their project.


	3. Smiley-Face

**WARNING: Implied Internal Homophobia/Implied Lavashipping and brief kissing! (Also Forced Eating because I'm a terrible person.)**

* * *

Lloyd enjoyed the quiet. Jay's thoughts weren't noisy anymore, they stayed in one place. His own. He never talked. Soundless wasn't the correct word to describe him. Speechless, maybe. It was other's thoughts that stole his voice.

No, he wasn't stupid. Lloyd stole his intelligence.

"Hey, Jay." One of the school students said to admire him. "Nice haircut."

Jay just nodded and smiled, and hid behind Cole. Lloyd wondered if he was supposed to be their savior or something, or maybe it was something else. It didn't matter. Kai was close to him too, like a lost puppy. Again, Cole didn't mind. His headphones sung words

He didn't know if Cole trusted him or not. Lloyd was very much untrustworthy.

"What's the plan for your dad's latest attack, Garma-dunce?" He'd forgotten that he was pinned to a locker, face-to-face with Chen the Cheerleader. School bully. Yay cliches. He took a glance at Chen's features, they weren't as flawless as Kai's, but it'll do. "Did you not hear me? I said-"

"If you get any closer, I might just kiss you." Lloyd was not stupid neither was Jay. Doesn't matter in the end. Chen's face softened before returning to their original form, his heterochromia-which was Lloyd's fault-only made him look more attractive. Though the blonde knew that he could shapeshift into a girl at any given time, he chose not to. Chen wasn't his type. "You're handsome, you know that right?"

"Quit trying me, Lloyd." It was the first time Chen has used his first name since they were eleven. Lloyd reached his free hand to Chen's face and pulled Chen to his lips. It only lasted a second before Chen pushed him back. "Dude, disgusting!"

"You taste like grape chapstick, I like it." The other smiled. Chen spat into a trashcan and wiped his mouth. Lloyd wasn't lying about his lips, they tasted sweet hints of cherry. He definitely did well. "Do you want another one? We have all day."

"You are the most disgusting thing to ever exist in this entire city, and that's saying something!" Chen stepped back. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before swing swinging a fist. Something caught it.

"That is enough." Cole wore a smiley-face t-shirt. Cole liked smiley-faces. Chen huffed and pointed to Lloyd as he walked away. Lloyd cocked his head.

"D-disgusting! You're disgusting!"

"I thought you were supposed to be in class." Lloyd joked. Cole wasn't buying it. He needed to loosen up, have some fun for once. The latter hated him.

"And I thought you knew how to defend yourself," Cole said. "I know what you did to Kai and Jay." Pulling Lloyd close. Lloyd touched Cole's wrist. He was going to need a backfire. "You are not going to use that trick of yours on me, you hear?"

"Loud and clear. You're a smart cookie aren't you?"

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, you broke my friends."

"Sure."

The two parted ways. Did Cole mind at all? Lloyd didn't think so. Cole was weird like that. Strength was weird. Lloyd was bleeding again. Weird.

School was going just wonderful.

When he got to his bathroom, Lloyd washed his face. His mouth produced black liquid whenever something went wrong (or right, it depended on the situation). Lloyd groaned, Cole knew something he shouldn't have. Cole was probably going to be worse than Kai. He was getting in the way.

Cole wasn't someone to mess with, sure he had a calm nature, a gentle giant if you will, but he put his friends first. He and Lloyd weren't friends, to begin with. They only acted the part around the others. They put on a smile when they were around. Lloyd's ink would be rendered useless against the earth.

Cole, Zane, and Jay were Book Club buddies in 9th grade. Maybe he'd already read about Oni Blood. Lloyd stared at himself in the mirror, that blood isn't going away anytime soon. Cole liked to listen to music and read, going to the library every day after school when they weren't saving the day. Being creepy wasn't enough.

* * *

Lloyd realized that he can catch glimpses of Cole's memories, that was a neat new trick. And he swore to his grandfather again, Cole's life was living hell. He understood why Cole acted tough and resilient. The earth master was terrified. Emotional trauma sucked.

He didn't know Cole was so very emotional. Insecure. Sensitive. He questioned his value a lot. He was somehow still mourning over himself. The lack of his father's attacks was suspicious.

Somewhere in his memories, there was a trigger word.

Ninjago's Public Library was beautiful, two swan-themed fountains, college students studying and laughing, hipsters drinking coffee and enjoying books. Lloyd stared back at those who dared to look at him, he had fangs now, which was great. He felt displaced. Something was happening to him, and Lloyd was afraid of what. Different lately. But something new was something good.

He found Cole on the third floor of the library, the Teen section, reading as he should be. He was the only other person there. Lloyd could see a distant memory from a couple of years ago. Cole was twelve back then. He's seventeen now.

 _"Don't touch me! You can't just kiss someone like that! You've got dirty hands, boys aren't supposed like boys. Gross." A much older boy shoved him into a closet, there were dressed for a party. Cole waved his hands out for help, his arm was broken. He cried at the pain._

 _"Stop crying! He's got germs, avoid 'em like the plague." They kicked him. Cole was surrounded, helpless, lost. Earlier that week, he had made the mistake of answering a question on his opinion of girls. Cole told them he liked boys. They treated him like an animal for that. His arm was still broken._

Cole winced and closed his book. The memory hurt. Lloyd hid behind a bookshelf. Cole was frustrated. Angry. Upset. Something was wrong. Lloyd doesn't like wrong things.

"Leave me alone, stalker," Cole warned. Lloyd learned not to mess with him. His agenda said otherwise. Cole was getting in the way. Lloyd knew things about Cole, bad things. "I told you to not use your tricks on me."

"They teased and hurt you because you liked boys," Lloyd said. Cole immediately pushed his chair and table back, it made an echoing noise. He threw off his headphones and grit his teeth. Lloyd could see a chipped tooth.

"Who told you that!?" He shouted. Lloyd shushed him, didn't he know that they weren't supposed to shout in a library? The Oni moved from his position to face Cole, he had a look of hurt and disappointment into one reaction. Cole was weird like that. "I swear, it's not like that.

"You swear a lot," Lloyd answered. Cole picked up a couple of textbooks from his book bag. "How's your relationship with Kai working out?"

 _They were hugging and kissing, laughing and smiling. Kai seemed happy as he and Cole held hands. They loved each other. Lloyd wanted that. To feel loved, adored, accepted._

"I-uh, what?" Cole asked, taken aback. Lloyd was getting deeper into his memories. Then a textbook flew past his head, then another. Cole was throwing things. "You ruin everything! Get out of my head!"

Lloyd was quick to dodge, catching a few books in the process. He reached into his pockets, that pen was there. Cole liked smiley-faces. They symbolized his happy place. Lloyd liked that.

Cole continued to throw pencils, papers, his sketchbooks. Lloyd gave a small smile, Cole needed to calm down. Cole's nervous. Cole was Kai's boyfriend. Cole was a lot of things. Cute.

"Don't lie to me, Cole. Stop your tough-guy act. I know you're scared." Lloyd was being creepy again. Lloyd was hugging Cole. Cole didn't like that. Cole hates him. "I know your scared to show your true colors because some kids called you 'dirty' when you went to a dance school."

Cole shuddered. Was that the trigger word? Dirty? Lloyd accidentally triggered something. That was his fault. He'd triggered another memory.

 _"If you don't eat this," A boy Cole's age held up a half-eaten burger from the trash can, it had flies surrounding it already, there were contents of discarded rotten ingredients. Cole's arm was still broken. Wow. "I'll make you drink from the toilet right after the janitor uses it." Cole scrunched his nose in disgust. Nobody liked that idea. "What? Too scared to get down and dirty?"_

 _"No, no. I'll do it" Cole whispered. The boy looked to his friends, whose phones were out to record the whole thing. The burger was shoved into his mouth. He ate it. He ate the whole thing. Cole gagged, but he ate it nevertheless._

 _"I can't believe he ate that!" was followed by "He's disgusting! Dirty whiner!" Cole collapsed to the floor. He felt as if he was going to be sick. Food poisoning._

 _"So dirty. Cole just ate garbage!"_

At the end of it all, Lloyd used his pen to draw a smiley-face on Cole's face with a heart. Cole grumbled and pushed him off. He wiped his cheek but the ink never smeared. Lloyd hit something he wasn't supposed to.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "Just don't touch me and I won't get you in trouble." The earth ninja was fearful. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have touched you."

Dirty was the trigger word. Good job, Lloyd. Cole left Lloyd bewildered. Cole's a nervous wreck. Personal issues. It didn't matter anyway.

'Insecure' and 'Disappointment' was written on his arms. Lloyd never wrote them. Only the smiley-face. That was a mistake. How could he be so stupid?

Cole's favorite song was blasting through his speakers. Cole left them there.

Lloyd felt an emotion. Regret.

* * *

The DJ didn't show up to school for a couple of days, but when he did. He was unrecognizable. Off his rocker. Lost his cool. Losing his mind. Emotions were terrible.

"Woah man," Nya had commented on his attire one morning, turning Kai around to join the conversation. Her brother was blind, she knew that now. "What are you wearing?"

"It's not that bad." Cole didn't wear any headphones. Cole doesn't listen to music anymore. That was Lloyd's fault. "Is it?"

"It is hot enough for you to sweat," Zane chimed in. Thanks for the robot. "There is no reason why you should be wearing winter clothing."

"I knew I looked ridiculous!" Cole hissed. He looked to Jay for confirmation. But Jay was busy counting on his fingers. Jay wasn't thinking today. "I'm not coming to school tomorrow, or the next, or the week after that. I should've stayed home while I had the chance-"

"Hey now, let's not jump to conclusions, Rockstar." Kai steadily shuffled over to Cole, feeling walls. Cole stepped back. "You look fine, nothing out of the ordinary from what I've seen you wear." Kai offered his hand, Cole never took it. "What happened to my boyfriend?"

"I'm sorry, I just...really don't feel comfortable with touching things right now," Cole said in a soft voice. Lloyd wondered if Cole was a germaphobe after that event. He didn't seem like it. "The sun hurts, people hurt, I hurt. I'm not touching you."

"Cole, are you feeling okay?" Nya frowned. Cole put up his hands in reassurance.

"Yeah," He eyed Lloyd. Brown eyes met red eyes. He looked petrified. "I'm perfectly fine, just jumpy. I'd better get to class."

Lloyd watched as his former pretend-friend apologize when he ran into one of the new students. He flinched when the boy went to pick up his belongs. Cole had been beaten before. Yes. That smiley-face wasn't worth it.

"It's okay, man." He heard the boy say.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have been so close," Cole belittled himself. The boy reached out a hand for him to take. Cole shook his head. "No, don't touch me, I might get you in trouble."

Cole said the exact same thing to him. He understood why Cole acted so touch.

Going to the library was a mistake. Lloyd hated his mistakes. He was bleeding again, it tasted like metal and ink. He bit his tongue, fangs.

Lloyd understood why Cole was afraid of himself. Kai was his boyfriend. Cole felt dirty for loving him.

Cole's favorite song was depressing.

 **Rule Number Three:**

 **Those that interfere with your plan...shut them down.**

* * *

Lloyd sat on his bed and ran fingers through his hair, he had two more left. Lloyd hated the icy feeling of water. Ice was related to water. They were only going to get more suspicious of him.


	4. Black Lies

_He stood over the 8-staired treehouse. It bothered him that Chen was still alive. His head was bleeding, Chen looked broken enough to be dead. Lloyd had his outbursts again, where he talked to himself, where he had rather violent...tendencies. Today was just his day._

 _He pushed him out the makeshift window._

 _Lloyd covered his ears as children screamed and cried. The teachers wanted no part of it, of course, they didn't know. That's what the teacher's lounge was for. The noise was ear-piercing. They only fueled his outburst._

 _Climbing down the stairs, he thought that the fight was easy. Lloyd wanted a challenge, he wanted to feel the pain. That was something no eleven-year-old should want. Lloyd was no fool._

 _"Get up," The preteen kicked Chen in his side, the latter coughed. Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows. His mouth spewed black. Awesome. "Fight me, coward."_

 _When he got no answer, only a groan, Lloyd pushed himself onto him. Punching and kicking, screaming and crying. He felt like he was choking from the bitter taste in his mouth. Someone was calling him. Lloyd paid no attention._

 _"That's not right," He heard someone say from behind. Lloyd stopped abruptly if he could speak, he would. Humans were not right. This one was not human. "Calm down, breathe, stop."_

 _"Why should I!? He hurt me first!" Lloyd managed to gargle out. His pained expression told bad stories. Blood spilled over. "He'll pay for the things that he did, they all will Zane! You don't understand!"_

 _"Now is not the time, later, yes?" Zane gave a sad smiled and hoisted Lloyd off of Chen. Zane was strange. That rhyme wasn't supposed to make sense. Lloyd liked Zane because he wasn't human. "We are going to the nurse, you're bleeding." Lloyd opened his mouth to protest, Zane stopped him. "Don't argue, okay?"_

* * *

Their lunch table was quiet. Jay was still counting, Cole sat away from them, Kai missed his boyfriend. That only left Zane and Nya. They were talking. Lloyd knew it was about him. Their conversation this morning was amusing.

"You've noticed how weird everyone's been acting lately?" Nya asked him. Zane raised an eyebrow, if anything, he hadn't noticed. Lloyd hid behind a wall. "I mean, Jay hasn't said anything in four weeks! Cole's out of it and doesn't even count for the fact that my own brother can't see! I'm tying it to Lloyd."

"Why would you consider that?" Zane made a whirring sound when he moved his head. Zane was the one who kept Lloyd out of trouble (courtesy of his mother). Though he was doing his best, Lloyd tried to avoid him at all costs. There's that blood.

Zane believed him.

"Please! Lloyd's the most suspicious person in this entire school, I understand that he has...problems. But that's no excuse to be all cryptic-like. I found Kai in his bathroom, Jay's counting, and Cole, I'm not sure what's going on with Cole. The entire school's afraid. And what do they all have in common? Lloyd." Nya was accusing him. They fueled his outbursts. Zane recorded everything he's seen, he's seen Lloyd choke on tears before.

"I," Zane hesitated. "I agree with you." Zane wouldn't say that. Maybe. Lloyd heard right. "He has his off days, it'll be over soon. I know Lloyd."

"Why do you care? We should stop him before he wreaks havoc." Nya suggested. Zane whirred again. "We should kidnap him, interrogate him."

It was there that Lloyd laughed, that taste made him choke. Kidnap him! A wasteful act of charity. Lloyd almost let his father get away with attacking the city one time.

"He's close," Zane said. "You'd better leave."

"Why? We need to talk to him." Zane shoved her away. Lloyd liked Zane. He wasn't human. Neither was Lloyd.

"Leave him," Zane said. Nya did. Lloyd made himself into view. Zane noticed his smile. "You're bleeding again."

"Yeah," Lloyd answered. "Something went wrong today." He didn't feel like cleaning up the mess he'd made. Everyone knew his 'condition' anyway. Doesn't matter. "Were you talking about me? I tell black lies myself, you know?"

"I assure you, we were not. I keep you out of trouble." Zane was a terrible liar. Zane was a good liar. No matter. Lloyd was able to detect lies, sometimes. He had a hard time detecting human emotion. "What are you doing after school?"

That caught him off guard. Lloyd had no idea what he wanted to do. He's been talking again. His mother was worried. Lloyd really wanted his father.

"I'll just go home, maybe." He shrugged. Lloyd toppled. "Maybe I'll visit my cousin's grave, tell him I'm sorry. I miss him."

Zane held him as he leaned by a locker, metal tasted as cold as ice. Lloyd trusted Zane. Zane was too inhuman to hurt him. Maybe.

"Please don't lie to me, Zane. I'm tired of acting, I'm tired of acting like I care." He said. "I'm just tired in general. You know me. You have been talking about me, don't kidnap me, it won't do anyone justice."

Zane gave a small nod and helped him to the nurse. Zane understood him. He was programmed to have emotions. Zane records everything he sees. Zane trusts him to make the right decision.

Zane was too trustworthy in him.

* * *

Lloyd went home after lunch that day, the nurse talked to his mother about 'unforeseen' circumstances. Lloyd broke her hand. Yay. He loved it when someone got hurt.

What a real sadist.

"You've been quiet, Lloyd." Koko, his mother, said once they got home. He's tired. "I haven't seen your friends in a while, what happened?"

Sixteen was a weird thing. If Lloyd told her what happened, she'd freak out, she'd have him arrested, she'd hate him. Lloyd doesn't want her to be afraid. Zane told him that he liked to overthink things.

"Did you know Kai and Cole were dating?" Lloyd asked. Koko paused making the tea on the stove of their small apartment home. Lloyd guessed she knew. Mothers. No.

"Yes, I'm surprised you didn't. They're a cute couple." Now Lloyd suspected that everyone kept secrets from him. He'd already learned about Cole's trauma and Jay's weird pyromania, he wasn't sure about Kai. Later. He'd ask him later. Koko poured them tea. "How's school going?"

She was onto something. Maybe someone told her. Lloyd hoped not.

"Humans are weird, don't you think? They tell lies and keep them from me. Please don't lie to me, mom."

"Lloyd, I would never lie to you." That was true. She never lied. But that was a possibility, she never told him how she and his father met or given him a straight answer as to why he feels broken. She was used to his questions about humanity.

Everyone knew things they shouldn't have.

"Zane says humans lie to protect themselves, are they afraid of me? I've made mistakes, several mistakes, but why are they scared? Aren't humans supposed to forgive each other?" Lloyd told her. There were a lot of black lies hidden in his words, Lloyd told him to mask the truth. He was trying to fix them. Lord Garmadon would help him. Creepy.

Koko said nothing but handed his cup. Yeah, keeping secrets was weird. There were lots of reasons she could explain to her son, now was not the time. That sounded like something Zane would say.

Lloyd's phone buzzed, Zane, invited him to the warehouse. He knew they planned to get answers. Lloyd planned to overtime his stay. Zane's terrible at lying. Lloyd knew how to program.

* * *

He told his mother that he was going to visit his uncle. But Wu hasn't been back in months. None of the other ninja worried, Wu was a 'Ninja Master', he handled himself despite being an old man. Wu was really missing out the scenes his nephew was causing, he knew Lloyd still missed his cousin, one of the only people who knew how to calm him down.

Lloyd had been on edge lately.

Rather than taking the late-night bus, Lloyd walked. He wore his hoodie, cool air brushed past his face, he felt rather strange. This night seemed all familiar. He heard the sounds of the waves crashing.

 _"Let me see him! Please! I need to know if he's okay!" Lloyd tried to push the paramedics surrounding his cousin. His mother held him back, something went wrong. Green. There was something dripping out of his mouth. Black. "Please!"_

 _"Stand back kid," The male paramedic said, he did a double-take at Lloyd. "Is that...normal?"_

 _Lloyd put fingers to his face, he felt like he was choking, still alive probably. He wasn't dying. But if he was, maybe he could join his cousin. It was the second time he'd bled. Shaking his head, he focused on the wet body._

 _"Nevermind," The man said. "Keep going, check his pulse."_

 _Lloyd realized Morro was asleep. And he wasn't waking up anytime soon._

Lloyd shut his eyes tightly, his head hurt. But he had to keep going. The color green was stupid. He doesn't even know what element it meant. There was Fire, Earth, Ice, Lightning, and Water. Green was not his favorite color.

"I can't believe you actually came," Nya seemed hesitant at first when he arrived but still had her straightforward tone. "Garmadon." Nya never called him by his last name.

"Where are the others?" There was a chair in front of him. Lloyd saw straps.

"It's just me and Zane. Kai and Cole are out on a date and Jay is pacing around his house, that's what his mom told me." Nya answered. Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows.

"I thought Cole was afraid of boys?"

"He is, Kai got him to open up when you left. Everything is better without you."

That hurt. It stung, like a burn from a stove. 'Everything is better without you?' sounded scary. Did...did they tell her? Had he made the mistake of making them remembering? Maybe going to sleep forever wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Why do you bleed?" Zane had asked him. Lloyd looked up from his hands, it ran over. Spilling? Nonsense!

"What?"

"Why do you bleed? What's the reason?"

"Zane?" Lloyd was unsure, he couldn't see cyan eyes anywhere. "I told you. You know me."

"Let me rephrase that," Zane said. Something grabbed his arms from behind, they felt cold. Lloyd's head hurt. "Why do you hurt other people?"

He was restrained. They were suspicious of him, he'd been doing his best until now. As their leader, he wasn't doing a very good job of it anymore. Interfering was a rule he had broke. His wrists had straps.

Lloyd couldn't breathe. It wasn't claustrophobia, he didn't have that. It was an overwhelming feeling of black lies coming from his mouth. Weirdo. He choked again.

"You're a good liar, Lloyd." Nya pointed out. Her gloved finger pushed into his chest making the other wince. He could hear the wind howling, it was supposed to rain. Lloyd felt like a child on punishment. "You know you shouldn't be lying, especially to your friends."

"I know things, I shouldn't tell you, you'd get me in trouble." Lloyd was sure he had enough blood to fill three mugs. Shouldn't he be dead right about now? Maybe an Oni can't bleed out. Were they immortal? Lloyd realized those hands were Zane.

"You already are in trouble, with us." Lloyd tugged at his restraints. They hurt. Nya had tightened them. "Tell the truth."

"You are very funny Nya, but I don't like you. I don't trust you. Ink becomes stains after it dries." He said. "Zane believes me. Zane's a terrible liar. Don't try to make me talk."

"I'll make you talk alright-!" Zane held her back and shook his head. Lloyd could see the markings of his neck panel. Lloyd knew how to program. He knew coding.

"Leave," Zane suggested to the water ninja. Nya let a bucket of water fall on Lloyd's head. He gasped like a fish out of water, he hated water. Water was like cold lava.

"Did you forget that humans are usually sixty-five percent water?" She said.

"Did you forget that I am not human?" The power went out. It was dark.

 _'Would you like to try again?' his video game asked him. Lloyd looked over to Morro, a book on his sleeping face. Lloyd was tired. Sleep was close. He would sleep forever if he wanted to._

 _"Maybe later," He said._

* * *

 **Rule Number Four:**

 **Those black lies you tell...don't reveal the truth, or someone gets hurts.**


	5. Poltergeist

**PSA: Just so you know, I used a Steven Universe song in here. Anyway, have fun reading! (The song is Destiny (Steven Universe))**

 **To the guest that reviewed twice, thanks man, I appreciate it!**

 **WARNING: Brief Death Scene**

* * *

Lloyd escaped somehow. There were flashes of dark green, he was standing in front of the beach. Lloyd guessed that he could teleport. Nice. Something new was something good.

They would come looking for him, the street lights behind him flickered. Lloyd hated the ocean. Zane doesn't understand. He needed Kai. But he needed Morro more.

It was like the wind was talking to him.

It brushed his hair as if to tell him that he was going to be alright. The more Lloyd used his power...he felt stronger. He wasn't even sure if his father could do this. That volcano was still there, the air tasted like salt. He's tired. His father was terrifying.

Retreating to the street, he passed a couple of cars, he repressed his sudden urge to break the windows. He looked horrible. Looking into the glass of a store window, he could see faint markings on his face, was this really happening? Was he becoming the one thing that he vowed to destroy?

There was no use fighting it. Lloyd liked his father.

"Hey, I'm going to take the bus home," He heard someone say. There was a mumble from behind, the first voice laughed. "It's okay, really."

Lloyd spotted Cole and Kai passing a bus stop. Cole was tense, guiding Kai while holding hands. Cute. Lloyd wanted that love.

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own? It's dark, I'm not sure if you'll make it-" Cole said before Kai stopped him with a kiss. Cole gave a faint smile.

"Tch, you always worry about me, babe." Kai smiled. "I'm good, I'm the brightest candle out here."

Lloyd wondered if they were supposed to be out this late. Wasn't it almost nine? Nevermind. Lloyd had been walking for almost an hour. Weird was a strong word.

"Night, Rockstar." Kai stole himself another kiss before waving his boyfriend off. Sure Kai couldn't see but that still didn't mean that he couldn't handle himself. Lloyd took careful steps towards him. Kai laughed. "Long ways from home, are we, Lloyd?"

"I'm going to the graveyard, can you come with me?" Lloyd sat down next to him. Lloyd needed to talk to someone.

"Okay. Nya wouldn't mind me missing for a while." Kai agreed. Lloyd frowned, they were going to look for him tomorrow, he'd better stay home.

"Wouldn't Cole worry about you?" Lloyd asked. Still unsure. Cole worries. Kai worries, but not a lot.

"Cole always worries about me. That's why I love him." Kai replied, reaching for his wallet and handing Lloyd money.

"That's what I want."

"Oh yeah?"

"I want to be loved."

"We all do, bro."

* * *

They took the fourth bus to the graveyard, Lloyd ignored his phone that he put on vibrate. Their family plan was pretty useless anyway. His mother worried a lot. Lloyd loved her but he could care less. He's fine, he's got Kai.

When the two teens got off, it started to rain. Finally. Lloyd's been waiting for a long time. It only took them a couple of blocks to reach their destination. Kai frowned behind his sunglasses, Lloyd didn't move.

"Is it weird that I can sense some spooky aura coming from this exact area?" Kai nudged him. Lloyd shook himself out of his thoughts, it's been a while since he's been here. Spooky. Green. Black.

"Not really," Lloyd answered. He felt like a poltergeist disturbing the sleep of the dead. Guiding Kai inside, the rain hurt like bullets. "He's in the woods, I wanted him there."

They walked a path that was all too familiar to Lloyd. He passed a rather large gold-colored grave with words and statues: Cliff Gordon, renowned Actor 197x-201x. He shuddered, that was Jay's birth father. To his right, there was a smaller but extravagant grave with the words: Dr. Julien 195x-200x, the style reminded him of Zane. That was Zane's father.

The woods were like a sacred place, there was yellow tape indicating that no one was to pass into the woods. No. Wu told the police to put them there. No one but the Garmadons was allowed to pass the tape. They left him alone there.

Deeper into, why? The wind talked to him, it whispered silent songs. He threw out a hand in front of Kai, the taller stopped right before. Morro rested there, an opening surrounded by trees. There were medals his cousin won.

Lloyd felt like a poltergeist.

"They call this the Caves of Despair," Lloyd whispered a little too softly. He was usually quiet when he came around. But he brought a visitor today.

"I don't remember touching any rocks," Kai said, letting Lloyd grip his hand a little too tightly.

 _"They call this," Morro threw his hands out to the sun-baked area they were standing in. Lloyd gasped in surprise. "The Caves of Despair!"_

 _"I don't remember touching any rocks," Lloyd mumbled to himself._

"Obviously, but legend has it that this area has never once had a single drop of rain, sleet, hail, or snowfall upon it. I chose this place for him." Lloyd shook off that distant memory. It played every time he came. He was crying again. "I'm so sorry."

He could see words: Morro Garmadon, 199x-201x. Those words. Deceased. Lloyd didn't hide his tears.

"What was Morro like?" Kai was the one to break the silence. Lloyd tried remembering, he sat down and started to dig next to the gravestone. His hands hit a shoebox with his handwriting labeled 'I Miss You'.

"He loved to write, that's what these medals are for," Lloyd gestured to the trophies of achievement. "Let's see," Rummaging through the box, he found old photos, candy wrappers, poems, unfinished songs, and pages of books Lloyd had torn out. Morro had liked those. "He wrote me a song."

In his hands, was a cassette tape, Lloyd had almost forgotten about it. Green. He was bleeding black.

"I found a tape. Morro was a really good singer,"

"Do you want to play it?"

"Okay," Surprisingly enough, it still worked. Lloyd hadn't heard his voice in such a long time.

 _"Did you hit play yet?"_

 _"Yeah, it's going."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"Yes, just go!_

 _"Alright, alright, okay." Morro started. There was a strum from a guitar. "This is a birthday gift to my annoying cousin, Lloyd. He's a teenager now, happy birthday."_

 _Do you believe in destiny?  
_ _Close your eyes and leave the rest to me  
_ _Do you believe in fantasy?  
_ _I have to when it's right in front of me, oh  
_ _What are you doing here?  
_ _In the real word  
_ _What are you doing here?  
_ _So close I could touch you  
_ _What are you doing here?  
_ _And what are you doing to me?_

 _"Hey, are you crying?" Morro whispered, concerned. There was a sniffle._

 _"No, no, I just really like the song."_

 _"Happy birthday, Greenlight."_

"He was going to be eighteen this year, he was fifteen." Lloyd clutched the tape. He was being a poltergeist again, Morro was sleeping. How dare he disturb the sleep of the dead? He made a horrible mistake. Black. "I can't believe I lost him, I let him fall."

Kai rubbed his back for comfort. Kai was a good friend. Better than Zane he guessed. Zane was a terrible liar. His heart hurt.

"Do you want to stay or do you want to go?" Kai helped him stand up. Being thirteen sucked. Lloyd buried the box again. He hated the color green.

"Let's go."

* * *

 _The waves crashed violently, Lloyd's hands were shaking. There was something emitting. He's terrified. Morro's telling him that it's alright._

 _Lloyd doesn't believe him._

 _"Lloyd, it's okay." Morro moved closer. "Just breathe, how do you think I felt when I controlled the wind the first time?"_

 _"I can't breathe," Lloyd hyperventilated. Breathing wasn't right. He couldn't do it. "I can't, go away, please. Go!"_

 _No. There was a blast. What did he do!?_

 _"Lloyd wait-!"_

 _It sent them both backward, Morro toppled over the railing. He can't swim. They weren't supposed to be at the Lighthouse this late. Tomorrow was his cousin's birthday._

 _He heard his cousin scream as he fell into the stormy abyss below. There was a crash. Rocks. Lloyd's paralyzed. It happened all too fast._

 _Morro can't swim._

 _Lloyd ran down the stairs of the Lighthouse. What if questions racked his brain. Was Morro-? No. Don't say that. Don't EVER say that._

 _The water taunted him, in the rain, he could see someone floating. Someone was sleeping, and it wasn't him. Lloyd waded into and pulled his body out the water. He doesn't know CPR._

 _Pressing his ear to his chest, he couldn't hear the noisy heartbeat. He screamed to no one but himself, his voice made no sound. Lloyd held his body, running his fingers through his wet hair. He could hear sirens in the distance, they were so loud, so close, he wanted to be alone with him. Someone was watching him, someone had called._

 _He can't cry._

 _He can't breathe._

 _People lost themselves like the tides._

 _Lloyd hated the ocean. He hated noisy things. He hated emotions, such a nuisance. He hated being a poltergeist._

 _Lloyd hated a lot of things._

 _"Goodnight, Tomorrow."_

* * *

 **My Tumblr for this fanfic is (oni-not-human) or (cakeking-cole) whichever comes first**


	6. Suffocated Nightmare

**WARNING: Implied Suicide**

 **PSA: Nothing is supposed to make sense, it isn't supposed to**

* * *

 _It was dark as it was. That's what water does to you. He couldn't breathe, he had weights tied to his ankles. For his grandfather's sake, he was going to-no._

 _He was suffocating. There were sharks circling him. Great Whites. His sharks._

 _He screamed, there were air bubbles. He felt lightheaded. His lungs were filling with water. He didn't have the key. He let the sharks have him._

 _He closed his eyes. He opened them._

 _There was sound. They didn't sound muffled but sharp and loud. His body didn't hurt anymore. But he still felt like he was choking. He threw up water._

 _The humans were pulling something from the beach, or rather someone. Was that him? Was he-no. Stop thinking like that. No._

 _That was him, he_ was-no _. His skin was a sickly-colored black, a mess of blonde hair, a part of his left arm was missing, and his leg. Shark bites. He threw up water again. He felt sick. Maybe he really was-_

 _They were terrible people._

* * *

Lloyd woke to his radio blasting nonsense, the hosts sounded over-enthusiastic about something. He wasn't really paying attention. He never did anymore. He threw his radio against the wall, it smashed into pieces.

He suffocated in a nightmare.

That was bad.

He couldn't smell his mother's cooking. Maybe she wasn't working today? Or maybe she was still asleep? Nevertheless, Lloyd could take care of himself. Though he did feel bad for ignoring her calls yesterday.

"Mom?" He called through their small apartment. Lloyd's goldfish just stared at him. He was a total mess, he'd spent half of the night crying. His jaw hurt from muffled screaming into his pillow. He wasn't going to school today. "Mom? Are you in here?"

Still nothing. It was quiet. Too quiet. Opening the window, he was greeted by sunshine, something was happening downstairs, Lloyd liked the dark better. His mother wasn't home. So he closed it.

There was knocking.

"Hey, Koko!" His neighbor. "Have you heard the news yet!?"

"Go away, she's not home," Lloyd answered.

"Lloyd? Is that you? I thought you went to school already." His neighbor never talked to him. Ever. Something must have happened. Obviously, he was happy.

"They don't miss me," Lloyd said. There was a mumble before his neighbor left him alone. Good. After yesterday's...whatever it was, he'd stay home. The more Lloyd thought about being lonely, the more he suffocated from the thought. He needed to sleep again.

Nah. It was a bit too early for that.

His phone rang, it was from Kai. Twelve text messages and four missed calls. Kai did care. Zane did too but not a lot anymore. There was only one missed call.

Lloyd chose to ignore the messages. Going back into his room, Lloyd shuffled around for clothes. He hadn't done laundry in weeks, meaning, he never puts his clothes away, they were wrinkled and smelled freshly of detergent. Lloyd doesn't really get why he should do things someone else wants him to do, he should be able to decide, right? Eh, it was a right-wrong decision, Lloyd is looking forward to an answer.

"Ha, ha, I look like a dumpster diver." He told himself in the bathroom mirror. Disheveled, unkempt, awkwardly disgusting. The markings on his face looked similar to tear stains, since when had he been crying? He cries every day honestly. "Now we're only falling apart, or that's just me." Getting up to brush his teeth, a full set of sharp teeth greeted him. "Four points for everyone knowing that Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon would become his dad! Yay!"

Green wasn't his favorite color, so he chose to wear a black tank top and loose sweatpants, he wore Morro's fingerless gloves too. Surprisingly enough, he felt better that way. Comfortable even. His dad hadn't attacked in such a long time, something was happening. Lloyd checked his phone, there was an alert from the mayor of Ninjago City: **CITIZENS OF NINJAGO CITY, IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE-**

"Citizens of Ninjago City, it's time to celebrate the waste of my precious time, I don't care." Lloyd deleted the message. Somehow, he was reverting back to when he was eleven. Rude, overbearing, uncaring, a brat if you will. All this came from his father, and who was he to blame? His grandfather was half Oni, his uncle was all Dragon blood, Morro was...something, something he'd been trying to remember. Didn't matter. He'd figure it out later. "I'll go outside for the fun of it."

* * *

The outside seemed too bright, there was color, they were laughing. Lloyd listened to Morro's songs on an old music player, his headphones were dubbed soundproof. He thought about his nightmare, what was he doing at the bottom of the ocean? And why were there sharks after him? Questions, so many questions.

His phone buzzed. Kai was really good at memorizing his phone, that's something Lloyd can't do. If Lloyd were to text back, he wondered how Kai would read it...or maybe he couldn't? Maybe that bad cop sister of his and that good cop robot read it for him, or maybe his shy and timid boyfriend did, Jay doesn't read though. Text-to-Speech possibly? There were a lot of things to think about, Lloyd hasn't really thought about himself lately, he'd been hurting a lot.

Lloyd didn't bother to look up from his phone as he crossed the street at the walk, somehow he avoided getting hit cars, they actually...stopped and let him pass. Lloyd pulled off his headphones and stood in the middle of traffic, had he done something right? They were respecting him for all sixteen years he'd been alive...or maybe he's dead and this was his punishment. Shaking his head, he continued.

"Good morning, Lloyd!" He heard someone say.

"Hey! It's Lloyd Garmadon!"

"Hasn't he heard the news?"

"Looking good today, Lloyd!"

"Bonjour, Lloyd!"

"Excuse me, Lloyd?" Lloyd turned around as he was met with a reporter and her cameraman. Lloyd frowned, now wasn't the right time, he was thinking. "Do you have a minute?"

"What is it with you people?" He jeered. The reporter stepped back a little, but she looked fearless. She sure had a lot of courage, she was talking to an Oni. "What do you have to be so happy about?"

"Do you not know?" She paused to let him catch his breath. Now Lloyd was actually scared, is this what he has been waiting for? Is this the news that has the whole city in a euphoria? "Lord Garmadon is dead!"

"I-I'm sorry?" Lloyd felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He started to stutter. No way. There was no way. "D-Don't say that?"

It was like life flashing before his eyes, 'dead' was his least favorite word. He made sure no one had been able to say it for a long time, that's what this was all about. His father was dead. But how? But why? Maybe that's why his father had not attacked in so long.

This was probably the most black he had ever seen in his entire life. He was suffocating again, all this planning for nothing it seemed. Well that blows, it felt like a really bad nightmare. He's not seeing anything.

"He's not-he's sleeping!" Lloyd was screaming now. Why was he crying when he had no emotions? Weirdo. His black blood was nice. But why was the entire city cheering about someone's death? That wasn't nice. Looking up, there were pictures and signs of happiness, no one was miserable, anti-Garmadon signs hung from apartment windows. There were even pictures of his late father. How did he miss all of this?

The power went out in broad daylight.

What did it even mean?

"Sorry about that. My bad." Lloyd let himself gargle. There was no use in fighting it, his father was indeed terrifying. He's tired. "What a bunch of sadists."

* * *

"Lloyd?" Zane was here. He'd been sleeping on a park bench for a few hours. He was suffocating. "You've been here for a while, you have to go home."

"No thanks," He mumbled, turning over to his side. "My dad's not here, I'm not going anywhere."

"Stop be difficult, Garmadon." There's Nya. School must be over already. She said his last name again, he didn't like her either. "Suck it up and go home, you did want this."

"Hm, no I didn't. There's a lot of things I want but I can't have, you don't understand." The Oni flinched as Nya pulled his arm and forced him to walk. Lloyd doesn't like it when people wanted him to do things their way. "Let me go."

The two said nothing but proceeded to drag him. Their faces showed no emotions, Nya would be the first to kill him with her stare. People changed like the tides, a funny thing really, it was supposed to be a low tide today. Nya was all armor and shield, she could sweep someone away with her low kicks. Like the ocean, she was threatening.

"I can't believe we have to drag you," Nya broke the silence suddenly and gripped her hand tighter around Lloyd's arm. He was pretty sure there were bruise marks. "Everything was better without you."

"Nya, remember-" Zane started but Nya cut him off with a stare. "Sorry."

"I know a lot of things, I can answer you one." Lloyd chuckled. He wasn't laughing because he thought it was funny, he was laughing because he was nervous. To ease them, he could answer a question, it'd give them a hint. Nya stopped them.

"Oh yeah? If you know so much, then tell me," Nya's hand pulled him towards her with his shirt. Lloyd could hear Zane's whirring. Nya probably reprogrammed him. That was a part of his plan. He could smell the gum in her breath, peppermint. "Why is Jay counting?"

"What number is he on?" Lloyd asked her. Nya's face fell, clearly, she didn't know.

"Approximately forty-thousand three-hundred and twenty," Zane answered. Lloyd laughed.

"Only twenty-thousand more to go," He said nothing after that, leaving the two confused as they continued to drag him.

"Y'know, your mom was worried about you. You completely ignored her all morning, she stayed home." Nya sighed. "She kept calling and calling you, but you kept mumbling atrocities. She wanted to make sure you were okay."

Lloyd had shut out his mother, she indeed did cook breakfast, she told him that she was not going to work, she even said 'good morning'. Somehow, he blocked one of the only people who knew what was going on, death did a lot of things to you. It was like some selective thing. Lucid?

This felt more like a nightmare than reality. It wasn't adding up.

* * *

Later that night, Lloyd realized why everyone was so happy.

That dream wasn't his, but his father's demise. He'd saw him die.

Lord Garmadon was dead.

Something wasn't right.

* * *

Lloyd has been sleeping all day. Lord Garmadon had given up trying to conquer Ninjago and surrendered himself. He is being held in Kryptarium Prison. A nightmare inside a nightmare was unusual, lucid dreaming. He's tired.

He was back into that suffocated nightmare.

* * *

 **What? You didn't really think I was going to kill off Lord Garmadon like that, did you?**


	7. Right-Wrong

**Wu knows things. Terrible things.**

* * *

His uncle was back. He'd been gone for so many months that Lloyd had almost forgotten what he looked like. Luckily, he was still the old man Lloyd had ever known. They lacked their training.

The six teens lined up next to each other when Wu called them after a long Monday. Nya kept Jay from walking off every five seconds, Lloyd had to keep himself from laughing. He could see that his uncle was snickering from behind his beard, it was weird to consider in the slightest that maybe Wu knew what was going on. That was a possibility.

"Everyone is avoiding you like the plague," Wu spoke directly to him. Lloyd noticed the unnatural gap between himself and his 'friends'. There it was. "Do you think they don't trust you, Red Eyes?"

"I'm not processing emotions as I do," Lloyd answered. He stopped to realize that he'd been called by a foreign name. "Red Eyes?"

"Koko told me that you have been mumbling atrocities in your sleep, is it your father perhaps?" Wu asked him this time. Lloyd's fingers twitched, he doesn't like it when his questions go unanswered. So many of his questions were unanswered. Especially that dream. "You're upset."

"I guess, I'm weird like that." Lloyd shrugged. He had been upset, about what they were doing to his father. It was very right-wrong, his entire family was right-wrong. Wu sighed and pulled him outside. Rubbing his beard, he placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"I know you used that ink, you are very bad at lying." He stated. Lloyd's face went from bored to shocked, maybe he was good at lying, but not good enough to his uncle. Wu's fingers opened his mouth and shook his head at the two rows of fangs. "It was wrong of me to give it to you, you're becoming your father."

"Wouldn't Morro have done the same thing!?" Lloyd retorted, taking a step back. "Sure, he knew right from wrong but-"

"No, he knew better than that. It is only a matter of time before you've succumbed to this dark power. You know that. Your ink spell words." Lloyd said nothing of it. Instead, he walked away but to only stop halfway when the last thing Wu had said melted into his mind. "Lloyd, I know this because your father did the exact same thing, he wasn't just bitten by a snake."

"Bitten by a snake?"

"Your mother hasn't told you yet?"

"But, she never lies to me."

"You'd be surprised of what she does to protect you."

* * *

The next day was made up of Lloyd avoiding eye contact with him the entire time, Lloyd trained a bit with Zane, who had noticed his silence. Zane was very observant. He recorded everything. Lloyd studied Zane's movements, if they ever did fight against each other when the time came, Lloyd would need it. But as it turns out, Zane has a lot of data about ninja moves, but in order to be a master, he still needed more training.

Zane doesn't really know everything.

"Your form is off. Remember to keep your arms up." Zane lectured him. Lloyd let his distraction get the best of him, resulting in him ending up on the floor after Zane kicked him. Zane instantly pulled him up. He's nice like that. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Lloyd wanted to say 'yes', but seeing Zane down made him feel an emotion. Lloyd would rather stay numb. "But I'm glad you did."

"Why?" Zane asked him, a confused expression was on his face. Emotions and humans were always right-wrong. Lloyd rubbed the back of his head.

"I've got a lot of things on my mind lately, you just gave me a refresher to feel," Lloyd said. He lied again. His head sent a shooting headache, his neck threatened to cut off his air circulation. Lots of pain. Ow.

That never happened before.

Lloyd ran to a trashcan to hurl. Never happened before.

"Are you ready to talk, Red Eyes?" Wu chided him. Lloyd let himself hurl again. Wu chuckled and pet his back like he was a child. Lloyd was no child and his uncle was certainly no fool. "You're going after Zane next."

Lifting his head, Lloyd turned to face him. "Don't call me 'Red Eyes'." He mumbled, wiping his mouth. Gross. "I don't know what it means."

"My brother called you that, sometimes, when you cried, he would say your nickname to calm you." Once Wu had gotten his attention, he called to the others. "You are all dismissed, I will stay with Lloyd."

Nya's head perked up but nodded with determination and motioned the others to grab their things and leave. Lloyd could see hints of gold in Wu's eyes. That was fascinating but very right-wrong.

"Are you done ruining the trashcan?" Wu smiled. "Or are you too busy lying."

Wu knows things, terrible things. Lloyd wondered if Wu knew of his plan. Or perhaps he knew that Lloyd planned to visit his father when he was done with Zane. Lloyd wanted to know if Wu planned to stop him. So he asked.

"Are you planning on stopping me, Uncle Wu?" The Oni mumbled only to receive no answer. Wu was silent. "What?"

"Would Morro have wanted this?"

Lloyd couldn't think of an answer right away, probably not. No. Maybe so. Not really. Then it's a no.

"You don't know what he wants." Another lie. So, he was wrong. Again. As it now seemed. "Morro wanted a lot of things, I know."

"The wind is a very strong element."

"So is whatever my power is."

There was a high chance in Wu's face that he was very much unlikely going to stop him, Lloyd didn't mind either way. They way they talked to each other didn't seem to make sense, their words hid a lot of meaning in it, Lloyd knew that. His splitting headache told him otherwise.

"I've been experimenting lately while you were gone," Lloyd stood up now and leaned against a wall for support. "I found out that I can hear thoughts and see memories." There was no use hiding it. "Not to my surprise, Jay, and Cole both fear something, I'm not quite sure of Kai's yet. Jay fears that everyone will hate him if he messes up on his own, low in trust, scared of doing, just thinking. Cole doesn't want to relive his past, to be something he's not, he's scared of judgment, he's a such a baby. They're both kids playing dress up in costumes to make themselves feel strong."

"What else do they fear?"

Without a second thought, he laughed.

"Me."

* * *

Today was Zane. All Zane. Nothing but Zane. But Zane's a smart cookie. Lloyd knew that.

Neither of them were fools.

Ice is cold. Zane was always cold, he's a robot. Ice was water. Zane doesn't drink water, he's a robot. Ice is just plain water. But Zane wasn't just a plain robot.

* * *

 _"Why did you push Chen out the treehouse?" Zane asked while Lloyd tried his best not to cry again. Lloyd had an answer, so many answers._

 _"I told you, he hurt me first! So I had too."Lloyd clenched his throat with his hands, it hurt. Right-wrong it was. He felt sick to his stomach. Was this part of him being an Oni? Hurting?_

 _"You are a good liar, Lloyd. But not good enough, try again." Zane had a lie detector. Zane was good. Zane wasn't human. Lloyd had to up his game._

 _"I don't like things, Z. You and I both know that I like to be alone sometimes, but the humans come to bother me, I don't like it. They tease me and call me mean names, it hurts. Sometimes, I think that they need to be punished."_

 _"What would Fritz Donnegan do?"_

 _Lloyd shrugged._

 _"He's a hero, he doesn't do the things that I do. I'm no hero, and I never will be."_

* * *

When Lloyd goes to visit his father, he might take Zane with him. Though he would like it to be just them, he wanted Zane to record it. His phone buzzed.

 **Cold**

 **-Are you busy?**

 **-We need to talk.**

Zane wanted to talk. Okay, sure. Lloyd could do that. Zane, Zane, Zane, Zane. Ice.

 **Me**

 **-Where?**

 **Cold**

 **-My house.**

 **Me**

 **-Stop putting periods at the end of your sentences, you're so cold today, Z :(**

 **Cold**

 **-3:30**

 _ **Seen**_

"That was easy," He admitted. It was currently 2:30. Zane was cold today. Robots knew everything. But not this robot. "Very."

Today was Wednesday. Lloyd wondered if Zane could ever feel emotions, such as happiness, sadness, and anger. He did show signs of them, but they weren't real, he was programmed to act that way. Lloyd wondered if he could change his coding, Zane could be emotionless. Then he'd have his entire team of manipulated elementals.

He had to laugh.

"Food for thought," He said, sludging his bag to his shoulder. He'd already told his mother where he was going, Koko nodded and asked him to be back soon. Maybe. If Zane puts up a fight, it might be longer.

It did occur to him that maybe what he was doing was wrong, but this newfound power felt...nice. There was no chance that Lloyd was going to give that up. The ink pen was bought from an old woman little ways out from Ninjago City, Wu told him that not only did she make tea, she also made potions out of ink. Wu, of course, left plot holes, leaving him to wonder where the ink came from or how it worked. No matter. Somehow, his ink had the ability to control others, and that was all he cared about.

Zane was his first actual friend, his non-human friend, his right-wrong friend. When Lloyd was younger, he, Morro, and Zane would all hang out together and Zane would play a movie. When Morro died, Lloyd never told him, their bond broke off after that, leaving Zane to wonder why Morro had left so suddenly. Zane never pressured him further.

* * *

 _"Morro," Lloyd leaned against his cousin. "Am I a bad person?"_

 _Morro raised an eyebrow and wrapped Lloyd into a hug. Surprisingly, Lloyd didn't push against him._

 _"That's like asking me if I'm an emo because I wear a whole lot of black, Greenlight." He chuckled. Lloyd chuckled too. "You're not a bad person unless you believe you are, tell me, are you a bad person?"_

 _Lloyd shook his head._

 _"No, but Chen did deserve it though."_

 _"Not necessarily the answer I was looking for, but okay. I don't believe that you are a bad person."_

* * *

Was he a bad person five years later? Did people really deserve his judgment of broken bones? Yes, definitely, absolutely, always. Did Zane deserve it? Sure. Zane had a lot of information on him.

Zane lived on the far side of town, in a suburban area where there are a lot of trees, Lloyd has been down that way lots of times. There were kids outside playing, Lloyd had grimace at their happiness, they don't see the danger that he is. Some waved, others ran back to the mothers, some stared. Right, this was the only part of the city where, when his father was not arrested, it has never attacked. His mother considered moving here once.

Zane's house was two-story, there were a large a white picket fence and a mailbox titled 'Julien Residence' with a small snowflake on the corner. On either side, there was a garden filled with Hollyhocks, Forget-Me-Nots, Snapdragons, and Asters, clearly, they were still alive. Zane must have a secret knack for gardening. It was right-wrong of Lloyd to assume otherwise from Zane's kind nature.

He felt the sudden urge to step on a few, but no, Lloyd was a jerk but nothing like that type. He appreciated his flowers too.

"You came," Zane opened the door to 'greet' him. Lloyd cocked his head to the side, he hadn't noticed Zane staring out the window. Zane was recording things. Lloyd hoped that Zane couldn't see the inside of his bag. "Thank you for not killing my flowers."

They were Zane's.

"A vampire can't enter your home without being invited inside." Lloyd pointed to Zane's open door. "Of course, I'm no vampire, but the same rules still do apply to me."

"Come in, please," Zane said. Something was right-wrong, it seemed like Zane already knew. Something was amiss. What was it? Was it Zane's falcon staring bullets into his head? Or what is Zane's unusual passive-aggressive nature today?

"Why are you cold today, Z?"

"Lloyd, what are you afraid of?"

"Excuse me?"

"What are you afraid of?" Zane repeated.

Lloyd wasn't afraid of anything. Not anymore.

"What are you afraid of, Zane?" Lloyd knew a lot of things.

"You."

* * *

 **Rule Number Five:**

 **I know my decisions are all always right, everyone is wrong, I am right, nothing is wrong, nothing is right, I know I'm right, wrong, wrong, wrong. I am never wrong. That's bad. You are always right-wrong. Okay.**


	8. Backward

**"Everything will get better if I keep doing the wrong things."**

* * *

"Me?" Lloyd whispered. That was what he least expected from him. A robot for that. Zane's falcon screeched. He smiled. "A bit surprising for a longtime friend, right? I thought you had no fears."

"You are backward, Lloyd Garmadon." Zane hummed, gesturing to Lloyd to take a seat on his couch. It was dimly lit in Zane's living room, his falcon screeched again. The only source of light Lloyd could recognize was Zane's eyes. Ice was nice. Sure. "We're the same, you and I. It's a wonder why we get along so well."

 _"What are you afraid of, Z?" Lloyd mumbled as they waited for the nurse. Zane's head made a whirring sound and gave him a goofy smile in return._

 _"I fear nothing, I was programmed not to." Zane grinned._

 _"We're the same, you and I. It's a wonder why we get along so well." Lloyd laughed._

Lloyd shook his head, that memory was indeed familiar. It's amazing how long he could go without losing himself in the process. Zane was good at it. Zane was very backward with it. And Zane was very good at masking his fear.

"How do you remember that?" Lloyd asked. That was stupid. So very stupid. He already knew the answer. Zane just stared at him. Zane records everything.

"You made me feel like a human, and in return, I did the same to you. But now," Zane paused while his falcon screeched for the third time. Lloyd covered his ears when it happened. He doesn't like noisy things. "My falcon tells me that you have not been yourself lately."

"Oh?" Lloyd eyed Zane's falcon. "What else does your falcon say about me?"

"That you hurt other people and it satisfies you." Hm. Seemed as if Zane was getting too close. Lloyd pretended to look taken aback.

"Well, your falcon is a liar."

Zane let his companion out of the gold-rimmed cage to sit on his shoulder.

"My falcon never lies." Zane glared. Lloyd could hear the gears tearing in both of their heads. "You are really bad at it."

"A bit dramatic don't you think?" Lloyd chuckled before circling the two, Zane's falcon's head followed him like an owl. Creepy and gross. Ha. Lloyd clutched his bag and slowly opened the zipper.

"No." Zane knew. He really did. And just when Lloyd thought otherwise. Lloyd's looked for a panel, deciding it was on the front, he turned the other way.

"Where is it, Z?" Lloyd asked him. Zane's falcon flew back to its cage, waiting. The latter grabbed both of his hands, dropping Lloyd's bag next to him, tools clinked together.

"I asked you to talk with me, not so we can play this game of yours."

"I'm trying to have fun while I'm here, you're kind of making it hard, buddy."

"If you try anything, Lloyd, my falcon will not hesitate to attack." That got Lloyd to stop, he didn't like Zane's falcon, at all, its eyes were scary. "Sit down, Lloyd." So he sat, next to Zane, ready to talk. Non-human to non-human, as simple as that, there was something to say here. There was nothing to say here. "What happened to you?"

"I have a screwdriver, where's your panel?" Lloyd asked him. He could see Zane's anger building up. Could robots even get impatient? Wouldn't Lloyd like to know? He needed to get the ice bucket. "I'm joking, Zane. A lot of things have happened, I haven't told you what happened to Morro have I?"

Ice was cold.

Zane stayed silent, which was probably okay for Lloyd go forward. Somewhere, inside, Lloyd did feel a little guilty. But it seemed like telling the truth could actually get the weight off of his chest, it could be a great practice for when he tells his father. Or maybe Lord Garmadon already knew, it was all over the news in fact.

"He drowned three years ago, I did it." That was the third person he'd confessed to, the first had been Wu. Zane sat up straight. "I had to lie to you because you'd hate me if you found out, you'd call me a monster."

"You're bleeding, you're not telling the entire truth." Zane read him well. What was he supposed to say? That he actually had powers that only showed up one time? That there was a blast that burned a hole into Morro's chest? Of course not! That was silly. "Lloyd, I know he drowned, but what else had happened?"

"No thanks," He was glad that Zane had wooden floors rather than carpet, then there'd be another mess he would have to clean up like he did at the school bathroom. But, if Zane wanted the truth, fine, Lloyd could give him the truth. It didn't matter anyway. "Morro and I snuck out three years ago because we wanted to go shark-seeing-"

"Shark-seeing?" Zane repeated. Lloyd nodded, his throat hurt, thinking he was going to cry, he turned away.

"It's a thing we do at the beach sometimes, sharks swim too close to shore sometimes, we'd sit by the pier and point out the different sharks. It's a thing we do, yeah." Now he was getting to the worst part. "Morro took me to the Lighthouse and he messed around with his powers for a bit, waving the flags, knocking a few boats back and forth, it was fun. But then, it seemed backward, it felt like something was resurfacing like it was there all along," Lloyd took a breath and turned back towards Zane again, his own pained expression told horrible stories. "He tried to help me control it, I couldn't, I wouldn't, it sent him plummeting, Zane, he's dead. I murdered him!"

Just as Lloyd thought of rambling, Zane put a hand up to stop him, his falcon was unnaturally quiet. Lloyd has never used that word before, it felt foreign, much like Jay's language. He couldn't hear Zane's thoughts because Zane does not have a human brain, but from his face, he could tell that Zane doesn't understand. Wednesday is a backward day. But Lloyd talked anyway.

"Don't say anything, Z. You would say the exact same thing Kai had said when I told him I hurt people in the bathroom-" Lloyd put his hands to mouth. Zane records everything, and he knew that his confession would stay put in his files. He feared judgment like Cole. Lloyd screamed mentally, all this time, he kept it hidden, Truth-day, okay fine. He laughed. "You know what, what's the point of hiding? How about you tell everyone that you're a robot and we'll be even? I'm tired of acting as I care because I don't. This fear is nice, I like it. I say I don't have emotions but I do. I lied, Z, I do have emotions. I just choose not to acknowledge them as I should. Where's the compassion? Dead."

"They were right, I shouldn't have trusted you. It is only a matter of time before you've succumbed to this dark power. You know that." Zane, Zane, Zane knows. Zane, Zane, Zane knows everything. Wu said the exact same thing. To hell with it.

The green ninja tackled the robot, Zane jolted in surprise and pushed Lloyd's face with his hands. Lloyd locked their fingers and twisted until he could hear the click of Zane's wrist break. Making sure he had Zane pinned down, Lloyd reached for his bag and use his scissors to cut open Zane's shirt. He did find the front panel, it had several intricate designs but it still looked human. Who cared? Lloyd got it to open.

This wasn't what Zane was supposed to be. Lloyd could see fear, he knows now that Zane was afraid of him. He messed up again.

Zane's falcon screeched, Lloyd winced again.

"Hey, Zane. Don't be afraid of me, please?" He asked as he pulled wires. Zane's eyes lost their cyan color, solid gray. "We're friends."

Lloyd yelped when Zane flipped him over his head, landing in front of the couch, it hurt but not a lot. There were cracking noises coming from Zane, sparks flew.

"Who are you?" Zane brought down his eyebrows. He looked almost confused. He stumbled a little.

"Come on, it's me, Lloyd. Your best friend."

"You are not Lloyd. You're a splitting image of him."

Then Zane fell.

"Wow, that was cryptic," Lloyd mumbled as he moved Zane's heavy body to the couch. He was going to be late, so he texted his mother that he was 'studying with Zane', which was a lie again. Lloyd then turned on Zane's TV. It was very windy today. It was clear to him that he had taken out vital wires. "Okay, Zane. Don't move, I promise that I won't hurt you."

Judging by his destruction, he had a lot of work to do. Lloyd studied the parts of machinery, he watched the others with their mechs and how they made it work. He wondered how he learned so fast. But Lloyd worked nevertheless, ripping out wires that Zane did not need, he used his pen again and wrote 'Emotion' and 'Understanding' and a very small 'Truth', it was a mystery at that. He didn't alter any of Zane's functions, he didn't alter Zane's appearance, he only altered Zane's personality which required a lot of coding. It took two years for him to learn.

He knew a lot. His plan was long with several hiccups and a lot of distractions. Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane were all apart of it too, he'd manipulate them enough to have them under control, sure, they were terrified, but that would lead to nothing. He has swords.

He turned Zane back on again. Zane blinked, still, his eyes were solid gray, his face made no expression. Zane's falcon hadn't made a sound in over three hours. Just to test his work, Lloyd asked him a question.

"What's your name?" He whispered softly. He was unsure a little bit, he did doubt. Zane's head whirred.

"Zane Julien, Model Four Prototype," Zane answered.

"Prototype?" Lloyd uttered. Were there more than one Zane? That was impossible. That was backward. Zane was a prototype. That meant that Dr. Julien never created a final Zane, this was his last project. "Do you remember what happened earlier?"

"No," Zane said. "Was it of concern?"

Feeling giddy and proud inside, Lloyd shook his head and told him no. Zane pointed out the puddle of blood that smelled faintly of copper and metal.

"It's a thing I do, I'm an Oni. I do it when something goes right or wrong."

"I see. Do you know how to stop it?"

No, he never tried. He doesn't know how to.

"No, I don't know how to."

Zane nodded and stood up to go to towards his bookshelf, which had books that were labeled in numbers, in code. Then Zane read an old book Lloyd had never seen before, the latter stood completely dumbfounded when it only took him three minutes to finish it. Zane held out his hand.

"Give me your right arm," Zane said. Lloyd hesitated.

"Why?" His fingers twitched. What was Zane going to do? Why was he going to do it? Zane's face remained blank.

"Would you like it to stop?" Zane questioned him. Yes, to his grandfather always. It's not that Lloyd doesn't mind bleeding, he just wished that it could cease for a while. Maybe hundreds of years from now, Lloyd would die and he would end up actually choking from the color black. Maybe not. Lloyd slowly gave his arm to Zane. "This might pinch."

"What-?" Lloyd never got a chance to finish when his entire arm was frozen in ice. There was a reason why Zane's contact name was 'Cold'. He couldn't move it, he could see Zane's eyes moving, scanning, pressing his already cold fingers into different spots of his arms. Lloyd felt relaxed. Whatever Zane was doing, it made him feel very tired. His throat unclenched itself. "Oh."

"An ancient form of Oni acupuncture, I could have chosen either part of your body, but your arms are proven the most effective," Zane said. Lloyd's mouth formed an 'O' shape and rubbed his neck. No one taught him this. Lloyd bet that Wu already knew, that old man was full of lies. "However, you must get it checked every few weeks if you like, I could-"

"Yes! Please!" Lloyd was excited today, it was dark outside, so it would a tonight. He has a science quiz tomorrow, that he never studied for. Zane handed him the book, it was a bit dusty but Lloyd didn't mind. "I'd better get home, Mom gets worried." Stuffing his bag with the book, Lloyd let Zane hold the door open to him. "Thanks."

"Are you planning on walking?" Zane questioned him. "Would you like me to drive you?"

There was something new, something backward. Lloyd declined and waved as Zane closed the door. Stopping at the entrance of the white picket fence, he chuckled. Another food for thought.

Then there was one. The water ninja. Lloyd hated the ocean. He despised her.

Now he just felt plain guilty.

* * *

 **Rule Number 6:**

 **You're so backward-no, shut up and let me write. I wrote this to help me, stop it. I'm backward. You're doing it wrong! Not guilty. No. Four more rules, come on. Keep going, fine, I'll do it. Never feel guilty for doing what you must, ever. Whose handwriting is this?**


	9. Wanting

**This chapter focuses more on Nya and her analysis of Lloyd and the others.**

* * *

Everyone wanted something, whether it be fame, fortune, love, revenge, death, karma. Lloyd wanted a lot of things. The most important thing he wanted was answers, so many answers, surely if he asked nicely, his mother would let him go the Kryptarium Prison. That was a joke. She wouldn't want to do that.

It was eight on a school night, he'd taken the bus home, laughing silently at those who glared at him. Lloyd could care less about them, fear drove him mad. And did it feel great! Lloyd wondered if his father felt like this when he used to destroy cities. However, his father was indeed wanting. It was like a calling Lloyd could not ignore.

"How was your super long study session, honey?" His mother opened the door Lloyd forgot that he was leaning on. Slipping off his shoes he smiled back at her. "You and I both know that it doesn't take long for either of you to study."

"Sorry, lost track of time. Zane was teaching me how to bake when we finished." Lloyd lied this time. Nothing happened. By then, his arm had thawed. Lloyd wanted this. "Wow."

"Wow what?"

"Nothing," He lied again. Zane was right. He was going to have to read that book later. "But, I have a question, you might want to sit down for it though."

Koko let him in their apartment and both of them sat at the dining table. She seemed to know what he was going to say, and she looked very prepared, overly prepared. His uncle might actually be right. Lloyd wanted things.

"Um, mom," Lloyd started, biting his tongue with his fangs. He winced a little, it was a sharp pain that he felt immediately. "Why did dad call me 'Red Eyes'?"

Koko knew he wanted the answer that Wu gave him. Taking in a breath, she spoke, releasing the tension that she kept within herself for sixteen years.

"He loved your eyes, always fascinated by them. You told him stories, the good kind. He would call your name and you would laugh along with him." Koko said softly. The stress that she was under, Lloyd could feel it. He did feel a little guilty. "He wanted you to be his little prince of evil. But, that's not what I wanted."

Koko wanted something. Lloyd wanted something. Lord Garmadon wanted something. Wu wanted something. Morro had wanted something.

"What did you want?" Lloyd placed his hand on hers, she shivered. Lloyd's hands were always cold now as it seemed.

"I wanted you to not be like your father."

* * *

It was Thursday now and the students were talking. They were talking about the rich boy with the shaved mohawk counting on his fingers. They were talking about the blind boy being guided around by his anxious boyfriend. They were talking about the robot with gray-colored eyes giving them nothing but a blank stare, cold and calculating. Then they were talking about the Oni with the bright red eyes who's wanting something.

None of them seem to be talking about the girl of the group, not only is she worried, but she's angry. Nya had told Zane to not listen to Lloyd, to not ever give into his words, out of them all, she's the last one left. Her brother had been diagnosed with blindness weeks ago, Jay was currently in speech therapy by his parents and Cole always wears gloves. Only once had Kai convinced him to take them off for him.

Being around Lloyd was like a curse.

None of them seemed to know what was wrong with their situation, Lloyd was seen always as an outcast. However, he drew a lot of attention, like it was something he had wanted all along, their eyes followed his every move. But Lloyd just gave that fanged smile of his, it ran chills up her spine. Nya wanted it all to stop. She couldn't speak of it to her friends, they'd laugh and call it nonsense.

The dark was no laughing matter. And Nya knew what he feared. Water. The dark feared water. To him, she was dangerous. To her, she was the last one.

It wasn't mentioned before to anyone, but Nya had the same third-period science class as Lloyd and Jay. Currently, they were working on a quiz and Lloyd slept through the entire thing. This morning, he looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all in a couple of days, but next to him, Jay was doodling on his paper. No one dared to speak to either of them.

"Pencils down," Her teacher had said. Right, it was a timed test. "I would like a volunteer to pick up papers, after that, you are all free to discuss anything but the answers to the test."

The only reason Nya had volunteered was to check on Jay, he has been getting better in speech, but it was like teaching a two-year-old to talk. Jay would only say things in short bursts and they were very incomplete. Nya could see his paper, there were scribbles of himself, there were scribbles of his friends, but what stuck out the most was a detailed drawing of Lloyd. It had Lloyd dragging two swords across what seemed to be the floor of their school, he was hunched over like he was in pain, his skin was inked in black with markings and two horns stuck from his forehead.

One of the horns was broken.

"Jay," Nya whispered as she tugged at his paper. Jay looked up, distressed, keeping a grip on his paper. "Come on, I have to turn this in."

"No," Jay grunted and took his paper. Nya sighed and went over to Lloyd's desk, Jay was not usually aggressive towards his things. Nya knew now that Lloyd does not like the color green, he refused to wear his gi when they trained together, saying that it reminded him of something bad that he had done. Lloyd doesn't want to talk about it.

When she took Lloyd's paper, she saw the word 'hopeless' and 'despair' on and immediately put it down. When had he written that? As far as she knew, Lloyd had been sleeping the entire time. She never bothered to wake him. Handing her teacher the other students' paper, she opened her sketchbook to doodle out some designs for her motorcycle, she had one of Lady Iron Dragon already, but she was considering of putting her mech design on it too. She kept her eyes on Jay.

Walking over to the teacher, Jay handed the teacher his paper. The teacher raised an eyebrow. Clearly, she was shocked and amazed at his details.

"Jay, I appreciate the 'gift' but listen-" She started. The former lightning ninja shushed her and shook his head.

"He's sad," Jay spoke.

"Jay, please. You are going to fail my class. What is this non-verbal communication skill you lack now?" Jay froze. Nya looked up.

"N-no...he..." Jay stuttered. Nya put down her pencil and eyed Lloyd, his fingers twitched in his sleep, she could hear him grumbling. Something was happening. "He wants things."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"He doesn't like me," Jay ran fingers through his hair, then he reached for his neck. He was having a panic attack, Jay did that when he felt trapped. "He hates me. What am I going to do!?"

"Jay-"

"He's here."

"Who's here?"

"I-I ca-can't. He'll kill me. I have to go." Jay shook his head and ran out of the classroom. Lloyd stood up, the students turned their attention to him. He was still exhausted but cautious as of now. A few seconds ago, Lloyd was sleeping, Nya knew that.

"I'll go talk to him." Lloyd then ran after him. Nya followed though she had no business doing it, she needed to be a hero.

Nya ran until she got to Lloyd's bathroom, rumor has it that someone uses it to hurt people, she could hear Jay in there, sobbing. But she dared not to enter, the dark was lurking, screaming, breaking. She couldn't hear Jay's cries anymore, the dark was in there. Her heart leaped out of her chest, she banged on the door. The dark had left.

"Jay?" Nya whispered when she opened the door. The air smelled of ink. She didn't want to think about the things the dark had done to him. She could hear crying again. "Jay!"

"Bad. He's very bad." Jay was in the corner, rocking himself back and forth. The dark went out the window. "He's tired. Want to sleep."

"I know, he slept through class. Are you okay?" Nya put her hands on his shoulders, Jay squeezed her hands. They were freezing.

"Not think. No me." Jay said. "He's sad. Misses him."

"Who does he miss?"

"Can't know. Sorry."

It wasn't that Nya didn't understand, which she didn't, but she needed as much information about Lloyd as possible to use against him. It's a wonder why no one has called the police on him yet. No student had come out to see what happened. As far as she knew, Lloyd was missing someone.

"Jay, nothing will happen if you tell me. I promise." Nya said, hoping to enlist some trust in Jay. She really hoped. Jay looked around like someone was watching him.

"Trust you?" Jay asked. Nya nodded for confirmation. She's hoping. "Okay, Morro. He's gone."

Morro was Lloyd's adopted cousin, she had thought he ran away. She had never seen him before. Nya wanted more answers. So she asked.

"Is he dead?"

Jay winced.

"He not like that word." That was an almost full and complete sentence, he's getting there. "He makes me feel his pain."

"Jay, what happened to Morro?" Nya couldn't bare of the thought of the dark. Jay looked at her, his eyes were sad.

"Accident. He drowned."

Nya furrowed her eyebrows. How could the dark be in mourning and lash out on others to fulfill his sorrow? More or less manipulate his friends? Better yet, the dark had no reason to mourn. He's as evil as his father.

Helping Jay stand up, she could smell the ink again. Where was it coming from? Didn't matter. She had what she needed, for now, she'd asked Cole next. Now she knows that Lloyd is in mourning.

What's next?

* * *

Lloyd hadn't been able to sleep last night. His mother's words rang through his head, taunting him. Just like how the waves taunted him. They were calling him.

"Not yet," Lloyd told himself. Those thoughts weren't ready yet, he wasn't ready. Jay was still counting. It was nearing the end of seventh-period and he was currently leaning against Zane, his eyes stung from the tiredness he was under. Zane's arms were cold. Lloyd was wanting again.

It was useless of him to write down rules that he was not going to follow and it was pretty reckless of him to break them anyway. Doesn't matter, he was already too far gone, so he let himself go. He fell asleep again.

 _"I'm already just like my father, mom." He told her. Koko hugged him, tears were there._

 _"I know," She mumbled. Lloyd felt guilty again._

* * *

 **Rule Number Seven:**

 **It's been a while, but I have a new rule now. Don't let go of the past, it can certainly rewind itself. I'm not letting go of what happened to Morro, you can't make me. I want to make them feel my pain.**

 **Three more left, let's keep writing.**


	10. Note

**Hey guys, sorry for a month and a half long hiatus/inconvenience :( (I know a lot of you like this story)**

 **This isn't an update but a note, I am planning to continue this story, but as a rewrite, it'll still have our favorite characters we know and love like: Lloyd the Jerk, Nya the only normal one, and so many more :D**

 **The new rewrite will continue as Instincts of an Oni (my previous title) and it'll still have some of the semi-same content**

 **Be prepared for that (I promise)**

 **-TTO**


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